Overproduction and the American Civil War

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The Lancashire Cotton Famine, also known as the Cotton Famine or the Cotton Panic (1861 -1865), was a depression in the textile industry of North West England, brought about by overproduction in a time of contracting world markets. It coincided with the interruption of baled cotton imports caused by the American Civil War, and speculators buying up new stock, for storage in the shipping warehouses at the ports of entry.

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Some workers left Lancashire to work in the Yorkshire woollen and worsted industries. The towns of Stockport, Denton and Hyde diversified into hat making. Tameside was the worst affected district and suffered a net loss of population between 1861 and 1871. In 1864 2000 houses were left empty in Stockport and 686 in Glossop, along with 65 empty shops and fifteen empty beer houses. The exodus was caused primarily by evictions.

Moor Lane Mill North, Lancaster